Asthma has been linked to markers on human chromosome 12 (Wilson et al., 1998, Genomics, 53: 251–259). In addition, obesity has been linked to asthma (Wilson et al., 1999, Arch. Intern. Med. 159: 2513–14). In particular, chromosomal region 12q23-qter has been associated with a variety of genetic disorders, including male germ cell tumors, histidinemia, growth retardation with deafness and mental retardation, deficiency of Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, spinal muscular atrophy, Darier disease, cardiomyopathy, Spinocerebellar ataxia-2, brachydactyly, Mevalonicaciduria, Hyperimmunoglobulinemia D, Noonan syndrome-1, Cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome, spinal muscular atrophy-4, tyrosinemia, phenylketonuria, B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Ulnar-mammary syndrome, Holt-Oram syndrome, Scapuloperoneal spinal muscular atrophy, alcohol intolerance, MODY, Diabetes mellitus, noninsulin-dependent 2, and diabetes mellitus insulin-dependent (See National Center for Biotechnology Information; Bethesda, Md.). The genes of this regions are also associated with obesity, lung disease, particularly, inflammatory lung disease phenotypes such as Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD), Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and asthma. However, few genes in chromosomal region 12q23-qter have been discovered. Thus, there is a need in the art for the identification of specific genes that are involved in these disorders. Identification and characterization of such genes will allow the development of effective diagnostics and therapeutic means to diagnose, prevent, and/or treat lung related disorders, as well as the other diseases described herein.